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* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: By the time he starts seriously doubting OJ's innocence, it's far too late: the trial is close to the end and if he walks out, it will not only ruin his career but will essentially mean he personally convicted his closest friend. He has a serious breakdown in front of Kris Jenner, tearfully admitting his doubts, and later when the verdict is read, he vomits in a nearby bathroom out of sheer stress and guilt.
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* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: By the time he starts seriously doubting OJ's innocence, it's far too late: the trial is close to the end and if he walks out, it will not only ruin his career but will essentially mean he personally convicted his closest friend. He has a serious breakdown in front of Kris Jenner, tearfully admitting his doubts, and later when the verdict is read, he vomits [[StressVomit vomits]] in a nearby bathroom out of sheer stress and guilt.
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* SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond: Even before working to prosecute him, Chris is noticeably less keen on OJ than his friends, noting how OJ left the black community behind at the first opportunity in sharp contrast to others like Jim Brown who maintained strong ties, took open stands and worked to improve things in black neighborhoods.
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* SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond: Even before working to prosecute him, Chris is noticeably less keen on OJ than his friends, noting how OJ left the black community behind at the first opportunity and never did anything to help others in sharp contrast to others like Jim Brown who maintained strong ties, took open stands for civil rights and worked to improve things in black neighborhoods.
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* BerserkButton: The implication or accusation that he is betraying the black community or acting on behalf of racist institutions by working to convict OJ, a rich athlete with a history of domestic violence, ''really'' pisses him off and is one of the few things to get him to drop his stoic persona.
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* BerserkButton: The implication or accusation that he is betraying the black community or acting on behalf of racist institutions his race in general by working to convict OJ, a rich athlete with a history of domestic violence, ''really'' pisses him off and is one of the few things to get him to drop his stoic persona.
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* BrokenAce: On the surface, OJ is the perfect face of new black Americans. He's handsome, wealthy, extremely charismatic, a legend of football and a representation of what all black people could achieve with hard work and determination. Beneath it, he was a jealous, short-tempered and abusive man and very likely a vicious murderer.
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* BerserkButton: The implication or accusation that he is betraying the black community or acting on behalf of racist institutions by working to convict OJ, a rich athlete with a history of domestic violence, ''really'' pisses him off and is one of the few things to get him to drop his stoic persona.
* BewareTheQuietOnes: Chris is usually reserved and calm as is required for his work but when he finally loses it on Cochran after one too many remarks calling Chris a race traitor, he is ''terrifying'', unsettling even Cochran.
* BewareTheQuietOnes: Chris is usually reserved and calm as is required for his work but when he finally loses it on Cochran after one too many remarks calling Chris a race traitor, he is ''terrifying'', unsettling even Cochran.
* SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond: Even before working to prosecute him, Chris is noticeably less keen on OJ than his friends, noting how OJ left the black community behind at the first opportunity in sharp contrast to others like Jim Brown who maintained strong ties, took open stands and worked to improve things in black neighborhoods.
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* TheWhitestBlackGuy: OJ wants to fit in with white people. Cochran, however, knows that the smart money is on a race-heavy defence and thus goes about overhauling his image.
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* TheWhitestBlackGuy: OJ wants to fit in with white people.people and was happy to leave the working-class black community behind as soon as he could. Cochran, however, knows that the smart money is on a race-heavy defence and thus goes about overhauling his image.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's abrupt, egotistical, and at times, downright blinkered [[spoiler:which kind of costs her the case]] but her concern is genuine justice and preventing violence against women. She's totally right when she says that OJ's history of domestic violence has been forgotten and she truly wants to speak for Nicole and Ron and get justice for their families.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's abrupt, egotistical, and at times, downright blinkered [[spoiler:which kind of costs her the case]] but her concern is genuine justice and preventing violence against women. She's totally right when she says that OJ's history of domestic violence has been forgotten and she truly wants to speak for Nicole and Ron and get justice for their families.families and she is very caring and affectionate with those close to her, especially Chris.
* NoSocialSkills: Downplayed as she's a perfectly polite and well-mannered professional but she can be humorless, abrupt and doesn't come across especially well to jurors. This normally wouldn't be a massive issue but in a case as heated as the OJ trial and with a defense attorney as charismatic as Johnnie Cochran, it causes her to be unpopular with jurors and the public.
* NoSocialSkills: Downplayed as she's a perfectly polite and well-mannered professional but she can be humorless, abrupt and doesn't come across especially well to jurors. This normally wouldn't be a massive issue but in a case as heated as the OJ trial and with a defense attorney as charismatic as Johnnie Cochran, it causes her to be unpopular with jurors and the public.
* WideEyedIdealist: She truly believes in the cause of helping abused women and that the jurors will see past both race, the LAPD's history of racism and their love of OJ towards the facts of the case. Her belief turns out to be tragically misplaced.
* CondescendingCompassion: He offers to help Chris back into the black community after the dust has settled from the trial. He's sincerely making an effort to reach out to Chris, who he genuinely likes and respects, and is taken aback when Chris responds with barely concealed rage at the idea that he had ever left and shoots back that all Johnnie did was get a rich and famous football player off for a double murder and didn't change a thing for black people in general.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: As in real life, he's very fond of using multiple, similar terms to describe whatever he is speaking about to really drive home his point.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: As in real life, he's very fond of using multiple, similar terms to describe whatever he is speaking about to really drive home his point.
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** Cochran also genuinely believes that OJ is completely innocent and the victim of an unfair prosecution by the LAPD. However, practically the rest of the legal "Dream Team" clearly believes OJ did it, they're just there to serve their client.
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** Cochran also genuinely believes that OJ is completely innocent and the victim of an unfair prosecution by the LAPD. However, practically the rest of the legal "Dream Team" aside from Robert Kardashian clearly believes OJ did it, they're just there to serve their client.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: For all his oily and manipulative behavior, Cochran does genuinely have the good of the black community in his heart, and is (briefly) crestfallen when Darden tells him that defending O.J. didn't do anything to stop racism.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: For all his oily and manipulative behavior, Cochran does genuinely have the good of the black community in his heart, and is (briefly) crestfallen when Darden tells him that defending O.J. didn't do anything to stop racism. He also genuinely likes and respects Chris and even has a few nice moments with Marcia, showing he's not above kindness even to opponents.
* LargeHam: He wouldn't be Johnnie Cochran if he wasn't one of these. He's at his most theatrical in front of the cameras but it's shown he's always pretty over the top even in private.
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* RightForTheWrongReasons: Cochrane is absolutely correct that the justice system is corrupt and unfairly targets men and women of color. Unfortunately, the case with OJ is fairly evident not one of those instances, and it's made apparent there was no impropriety on behalf of the LAPD and they actually did their jobs.
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* RightForTheWrongReasons: Cochrane is absolutely correct that the justice system is corrupt and unfairly targets men and women of color.color and that the LAPD is an institution with a history of racism. Unfortunately, the case with OJ is fairly evident not one of those instances, and it's made apparent there was no impropriety on behalf of the LAPD and they actually did their jobs.
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* WideEyedIdealist: He really believes his work in the trial will expose institutional racism in American society and change things for the better. Chris finally gets fed up and tells him after that all he's done is allowed a brutal murderer and abuser to get off because he was rich and he hasn't made life any better for black people in general.
* WorthyOpponent: He reaches out to Chris after the trial, praising him for his work and showing genuine respect for him as a lawyer and on a personal level, and has a few moments of respect for Marcia when she proves herself adept at matching him at his own game.
* WorthyOpponent: He reaches out to Chris after the trial, praising him for his work and showing genuine respect for him as a lawyer and on a personal level, and has a few moments of respect for Marcia when she proves herself adept at matching him at his own game.
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** The show references how the late-night comics would call him "Der Fuhrerman"
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* AlasPoorVillain: PlayedWith in his final scene, while OJ is most certainly Nicole's murderer and feels little to no remorse over it, when he realizes his life will never be the same and his reputation has been irrevocably tainted dawns on him it's hard not to feel at least a little sorry for him.
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* CrazyJealousGuy: Ultimately why he killed Nicole, he couldn't handle her trying to move on from him...even though she wasn't.
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* NiceGuy: He's portrayed consistently as a nice, perfectly pleasant person, despite how dim he can be.
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* OpportunisticBastard: He is fully willing to use 'the race card' even if it means it'll flare up racial tensions, just so he can get his client off.
* OpportunisticBastard: While his concerns about police brutality against black people is sincere, he can't help himself but spin the trial into being about racism rather than about OJ being a murderer.
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* CowboyCop: PlayedWith, as he definitely does some unusual during his investigation. Though if he actually broke the law is left ambiguous.
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* CowboyCop: PlayedWith, as he definitely does some some...unusual things during his investigation. Though if he actually bent or outright broke the law is left ambiguous.
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* AmicableExes: While Kris is upset at Robert for being a part of OJ's defense team, they are still on cordial terms and clearly care for one another.
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* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: In real life, although there were allegations made about Fuhrman owning Nazi medals, it was never proven in court and was dismissed as hearsay. The series' portrayal of him, by contrast, is directly shown to collect them and other Nazi paraphernalia.
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* EntitledBastard: Simpson basically acts like he should be able to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants and throws tantrums any time anyone tells him he's not allowed to do something. Any other time this would be intolerable, but the fact that Simpson is ''being arrested for the murder of two people'' it just proves was a selfish narcissist he is.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: He gets acquitted of murder, but is convicted by the court of public opinion and all of his friends abandon him afterward, including his best friend Robert. The title cards before the credits mention his civil trial with the Goldmans (which left him bankrupt), and his robbery trial after that (which actually ''did'' send him to prison).
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: He gets acquitted of murder, but is convicted by the court of public opinion and all of his friends abandon him afterward, including his best friend Robert. The title cards before the credits mention his civil trial with the Goldmans (which left him bankrupt), and his robbery trial after that (which actually ''did'' send him to prison).
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* EntitledBastard: Simpson basically acts like he should be able to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants and throws tantrums any time anyone tells him he's not allowed to do something. Any other time this would be intolerable, but the fact that Simpson is ''being arrested for the murder of two people'' it just proves was what a selfish narcissist he is.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He seems to sincerely love his children, as well as his mother.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: He gets acquitted of murder, but it comes with a ''steep'' price tag: he is convicted by the court of public opinion and all of his friends abandon him afterward, including his best friend Robert. The title cards before the credits mention his civil trial with the Goldmans (which left him bankrupt), and his robbery trial after that (which actually ''did'' send him to prison).
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He seems to sincerely love his children, as well as his mother.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: He gets acquitted of murder, but it comes with a ''steep'' price tag: he is convicted by the court of public opinion and all of his friends abandon him afterward, including his best friend Robert. The title cards before the credits mention his civil trial with the Goldmans (which left him bankrupt), and his robbery trial after that (which actually ''did'' send him to prison).
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* ShutUpHannibal: When Cochran has the audacity to try and 'bring Chris back to the community' in an attempt to make up to him. Darden flatly tells him that he's changed nothing, and all he's done is set a murderer free.
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* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: He briefly has this expression once Darden bluntly tells him he's changed nothing, and all he's done is help a guilty man go free.
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* CowboyCop: PlayedWith, as he definitely does some unusual during his investigation. Though if he actually broke the law is left ambiguous.
* DiggingYourselfDeeper: Boy does he doesn't even begin to describe Fuhrman's conduct during this trial.
* DiggingYourselfDeeper: Boy does he doesn't even begin to describe Fuhrman's conduct during this trial.
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* AffablyEvil: In spite of being a brutal murderer with a history of violent domestic abuse, Simpson is quite genial and friendly with almost everyone he interacts with, including his prison guards and limo driver. One possibility is that this is all an act, which makes it FauxAffablyEvil. However, it's strongly implied that Simpson is an authentically friendly and pleasant individual except when [[BerserkButton driven to a jealous rage over Nicole]].
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* AffablyEvil: In spite of being a brutal murderer with a history of violent domestic abuse, Simpson is quite genial and friendly with almost everyone he interacts with, including his prison guards and limo driver. One possibility is that this is all an act, which makes it FauxAffablyEvil. However, it's strongly implied that Simpson is an authentically friendly and pleasant individual except when [[BerserkButton driven to a jealous rage over Nicole]]. In other words, there was a reason he inspired such loyalty and charmed so many people.
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* AmicableExes: He and Kris still get along relatively well, even though tensions rise when Robert is one of the lawyers who defends OJ during his trial.
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* DirtyCop: PlayedWith. The defense certainly paints him this way during the trial, and his conduct during the trial doesn't help matters.
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* ChildhoodFriends: Him and OJ have known each other since they were kids, and their bond runs deep.
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* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: As Chris Darden bluntly tells him following the trial, his defense of O.J. Simpson didn't actually achieve anything that will reform the system and prevent future mistreatment of minorities by the police. All he accomplished was proving the system can be twisted in your favor if you're a rich celebrity.
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* PunchClockVillain: "Villain" may be too harsh, but Cochran mostly works to provide justice to those in the Black community who have usually been genuinely wronged by the system. Unfortunately, the OJ Simpson case is one where he is trying to get a possible murderer off entirely, and doing so in order to achieve what he regards as a major victory for the Black community.
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* PunchClockVillain: "Villain" may be too harsh, but Cochran mostly works to provide justice to those in the Black community who have usually been genuinely wronged by the system. Unfortunately, the OJ Simpson case is one where he is trying to get a possible murderer off entirely, and doing so in order to achieve what he erroneously regards as a major victory for the Black community.community as a whole.
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* NeverMyFault: He refuses to take responsibility for any of his rages or instances of violence or control against Nicole and even outright claims he was the victim of her rages and instability, much to Marcia's disbelief.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's abrupt, egotistical, and at times, downright blinkered [[spoiler:which kind of costs her the case]] but her concern is genuine justice and preventing violence against women. She's totally right when she says that OJ's history of domestic violence has been forgotten.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's abrupt, egotistical, and at times, downright blinkered [[spoiler:which kind of costs her the case]] but her concern is genuine justice and preventing violence against women. She's totally right when she says that OJ's history of domestic violence has been forgotten.forgotten and she truly wants to speak for Nicole and Ron and get justice for their families.
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* OnlySaneMan: He's the only one of the defense to be more concerned with the truth than their own success or reputation and who actually seems to care if OJ is innocent or guilty and the possibility that he may be helping keep a brutal murderer out of prison.
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* OnlySaneMan: He's the only one of the defense to be more concerned with the truth than their own success or reputation and who actually seems to care if OJ is innocent or guilty and to be troubled by the possibility increasing likelihood that he may be helping keep a brutal murderer out of prison.
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* RefugeInAudacity: Part of his danger comes from his willingness to take huge risks to get his clients off, most notably gambling on the famous driving glove which could have destroyed his case had it not gone his way.
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* EntitledBastard: Simpson basically acts like he should be able to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants and throws tantrums any time anyone tells him he's not allowed to do something. Any other time this would be intolerable, but the fact that Simpson is ''being arrested for the murder of two people'' it just proves was a selfish narcissist he is.
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* PunchClockVillain: Shapiro isn't ''evil'' per se. But he effectively works to get criminals reduced sentences and takes pride in the fact that he is able to negotiate favorable sentences.
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** Cochran also genuinely believes that OJ is completely innocent and the victim of an unfair prosecution by the LAPD. However, practically the rest of the legal "Dream Team" clearly believes OJ did it, they're just there to serve their client.
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* PunchClockVillain: "Villain" may be too harsh, but Cochran mostly works to provide justice to those in the Black community who have usually been genuinely wronged by the system. Unfortunately, the OJ Simpson case is one where he is trying to get a possible murderer off entirely, and doing so in order to achieve what he regards as a major victory for the Black community.
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* WellIntentionedExtremist: Cochran is absolutely right that Black people are unfairly marginalized and punished by the LAPD, and society in general. His concern for wanting justice for his community is also completely genuine. It's just that the thrill of the victory and the popularity that the case brings him taints his efforts.
* WrongGenreSavvy: After a fashion. Cochran ''genuinely'' believes he is fighting a crucial battle for civil rights, and representing an unfairly maligned Black man being set up for murder. In actuality, he's helping what appears to be a murderer get off scot free.
* WrongGenreSavvy: After a fashion. Cochran ''genuinely'' believes he is fighting a crucial battle for civil rights, and representing an unfairly maligned Black man being set up for murder. In actuality, he's helping what appears to be a murderer get off scot free.
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* SmugSmiler: He's noticeably smirking at Shapiro after his gambit to replace Shapiro with Cochran succeeded.
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* EveryoneHasStandards: Slimeball he may be, but one thing that draws the line for him is when Johnnie hires Louis Farrakhan to be his security for the verdict. Farrakhan's men are notoriously anti-semitic, so as a Jewish man he wants nothing to do with them.
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* EveryoneHasStandards: Slimeball he may be, but one thing that draws the line for him is when Johnnie hires Louis Farrakhan to be his security for the verdict. Farrakhan's men are notoriously anti-semitic, anti-Semitic, so as a Jewish man he wants nothing to do with them.
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* OutGambitted: He starts out as OJ's lead attorney, but he fumbles the case so badly that Cochran can easily swoop in and usurp his seat with backing from Bailey, whom Shapiro had previously spurned.
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